Activities using movies

These activities can easily be tailored to the movies you watch in class. Download the worksheets, and make changes as you see fit for your class and chosen film. These movie activities are divided into three sections: Pre-task, While watching movie and Post-task.

These are activities to be given before watching a movie.
In these activities, teachers use movie trailers and website information to motivate students to watch the film and give context to encourage better understanding.

① What is the title?
・Find the English title and the original Japanese title .
・Think of the genre of the movie from the title.

② Let’s take a look at the Trailer!
・ Predict what kind of characters are in the movie.
・ Predict the storyline of the movie from watching the preview.

③ Let’s take a look at the website!
・Find the names of characters.
・Discuss the characters and their personality.

This is an extra activity for while the class is watching a movie. This activity promotes awareness and intercultural understanding.

① Let’s find examples of Japanese culture in the movie!
・ Students find aspects of the movie that relate to Japanese culture and share it with their classmates. This can include food, school life, how people speak, and non-verbal communication such as gestures, etc.

② Let’s compare this with your own culture!
・ Students compare the Japanese cultural aspects that students have identified in the movie with their own culture and share it with their classmates.

The following are activities to be introduced after watching a movie. The teacher can check the students’ level of understanding, let them exchange opinions and impressions, and further develop what they understood from watching the movie.

①Arrange the cards
Teacher prepares 5 or 6 cards with a description of the main events in the movie. Students read the cards and sort them in order in which they occurred in the movie.

②True or false
Teacher prepares sentences with True and False statements about the movie and students read the text about the storyline or a character and answer True or False depending on if it matches the content of the movie.

③Who is your favourite character?
Students discuss who their favourite characters are and why you like them.

④What is your favourite scene and phrase?
Students share their favourite phrases and scenes and which phrases and scenes they disliked from the movie.

⑤What Japanese words/expressions did you pick up from watching the movie?
Students write down expressions they heard and understood from the movie and share them in groups.

⑥Let’s compare the Japanese and English title
Students compare the meaning of the Japanese and English titles of this movie. If they are different, think about why it had been translated that way.

⑦Let’s write a review
Students rate and write a short review of the movie on the movie review sheet provided.

⑧Role play
Students role-play with each other and briefly explain the movie to a Japanese friend who has never seen it before. Let’s talk about the characters, the synopsis, and what happened in chronological order.

⑨Let’s become a screenwriter
Students consider what could happen after the ending of the movie or imagine an alternative ending.

⑩Original Trailer
Students select a scene from the movie and create their original trailer for the movie.

Movie: “Happy Family Plan”

This resource is produced by JPF Sydney. (Nov 2020)